IDF plans for operations in Gaza after ceasefire, Israeli gov't set to approve deal

The list of the 33 hostages set to be released in the first stage of the hostage deal was published on Friday. 

Israel's security cabinet voted Friday afternoon to recommend the government approve the outline for the hostage deal after "understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the objectives of the war," the prime minister's office announced.

The IDF has taken measures to support the military's presence in the Gaza Strip, including the redeployment of troops in accordance with the implementation of the hostage deal, which was signed in Doha in the early hours of Friday. 

A car struck a security guard in the West Bank in what the Defense Ministry suspects may have been a terror attack on Thursday evening.

The guard was lightly wounded, and the driver was caught and arrested.

The leader of Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached.

The Houthis, which have targeted ships using ballistic missiles and drones in waters near Yemen's shores to show their solidarity with the Palestinians, had long said they would cease these operations if the 15-month conflict ended.

The ceasefire is expected to take hold on Sunday.

"We will continue to monitor developments in Palestine during the three days prior to the entry into force of the Gaza agreement. If the Israeli massacres continue, we will continue our operations," Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech.

The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) killed a Nukhba terrorist who took part in the October 7 massacre, the millitary announced on Thursday evening.

The IDF identified the Nukhba terrorist as Muhammad Al-Hisham Zahdi Abu al-Rous. It added that during the October 7 attacks, Rous infiltrated Israel and participated in the massacre at the Supernova music festival.

Along with Rous, The IDF and Shin Bet attacked dozens of terror targets across the Gaza Strip, eliminating Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists during airstrikes.

Israel's military also added that in a separate joint operation, the IDF and Shin Bet carried out airstrikes in the past day, striking approximately 50 terror sites across the Gaza Strip.

Among the targets included in the strikes were Hamas and PIJ terrorists, terror military facilities, weapons storage sites, rocket launch positions, and observation posts, the military said. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Friday and thanked him for his country's "pivotal role as mediator" in reaching the ceasefire and hostage deal that was signed on Thursday, a Friday Department of State press release said.

Blinken and Abdelatty discussed the next steps in the arrangement and finding a lasting path to peace, the statement said. 

Representatives of Israel, Hamas, the US, and Qatar have officially signed the hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire in Doha, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed in a statement Friday morning. 

According to the statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed of the agreement and instructed to convene the Political-security cabinet, followed by a government meeting to approve the plan.

Currently, the government plenum is set to vote on the measure on Saturday, which would delay the release of the first three hostages until Monday rather than Sunday as initially planned.

The government cited last-minute disagreements with Hamas as the reason for the delay in voting on the matter.

After months of intense negotiations, Israel is set to implement the first phase of a hostage release agreement on Sunday, January 19, 2025. This initial phase will see the release of 33 hostages over 42 days. The hostages include women, children, elderly individuals, and those with urgent medical needs.

Timeline and details

The initial phase begins with the release of three hostages on January 19. Each week, additional hostages will be freed, with a focus on women and children. The final group in this phase is expected to include long-term captives Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.

Terms of the agreement

The deal includes the controversial release of approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 200 described as having “blood on their hands.” Additional terms involve increased humanitarian aid to Gaza and a phased withdrawal of IDF troops from key positions.

At the start of hostage negotiations in October 2023 there were a dizzying series of reports and rumors about who was responsible for the fate of hostages on behalf of the State of Israel.

Names such as Gal Hirsch – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointee as Coordinator for the Captives and the Missing; Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar; IDF Commander of the Intelligence Array for Locating the Abducted and Missing Persons Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon; and even former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen were all given potential credit for managing the issue.

As we reached the last stretch of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal on Wednesday, there was no doubt that despite each of these figures making various contributions, the most critical figure was current Mossad Director David Barnea.

Even as incoming US president Donald Trump has tried to take the lion’s share of the credit for the final deal being sealed – and there is no question that he helped pressure both Israel and Hamas to take the final decision to cross the Rubicon – the Arabic version of the deal which was widely published on Wednesday made it plain that Barnea had sewed together a vast majority of the deal, dating back to May 27 and August 16.